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Monday, November 30, 2009

Today is the reveal day for the November Schnibbles. When I first saw this pattern, I loved how Carrie incorporated the American Jane fabrics. I have lots of similar fabrics, and auditioned with them several times, but they just did not seem to fall into place.

As I was thinking about how to make this pattern, I remembered about a stack of fat quarter fabric that I had. I had not used them before, mostly because some of the colors are not my usual palette.

But once I pulled them out, I thought I would give it a try.

So using the Victoriana fabric line, here is my November Schnibbles - Picnic

And if you have a question like "what are Schnibbles anyway?" Carol's Crafty Creations had the best description, so I'll let her tell you :-D

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Okay, so I've been a little busy. The days seem to just slip by, and before I know it a week is gone. What happened to October anyway??

I have not been able to read any of my subscription magazines.

And I would have missed my November issue of Southern Living all together if I had not browsed through the one at my in-laws house. How could I have missed this!

An article about PW with recipes and all!! This, the lady who inspired me to start blogging. And not even a mention on the front cover! (I do scan the covers to see if there is anything I need to look at NOW)

So what has been taking up my time recently?? Aside from taking a wonderful trip to Ohio, and trying to catch up on my son's school records, this is what I have been doing.............

Schnibbling!!!!

AND I don't want to mention how much "unsewing " I've done on this little baby ;-)

Hope you are having a great weekend. The holidays have begun.............

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Today is Thanksgiving. A day set aside for reflecting and for expressing gratitude. I am so grateful for all of the blessings from God. There are so many things to be thankful for. I have appreciated knowing so many of you since entering into this land of blog. Crafters and quilters from all over the world! It can boggle the mind. I have seen so much kindness and generousity towards one another.. It has been an honor and priviledge to get to know many of you. You inspire me and bring sunshine into my day. I am humbled that you come by and read my blog. So today I am saying Thank You to you. Thank you to all who take the time to leave comments. For your kind words and for cheering me on in this quilting adventure. I appreciate it more then you know.

May this Thanksgiving find you rejoicing in God's love and faithfulness.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Kaaren over at The Painted Quilt is an amazing artist and has shared her passion for scissors! Yep that's right, scissors. I don't think I have quite the collection of scissors as Karren has, but mine is pretty healthy.

You see it all started with this little one -

I was with my Mom once, when I was young, and we were shopping somewhere. I saw some kind of kit, and these little scissors were in it. I've had these scissors for over 40 years. They are marked JA Henckels/Germany.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Kim from "an oft traveled road" has shared a wonderful tutorial on her blog. "Share the Love" free tissue cozy pattern with a challenge to make two for a friend who will keep one and give the other one away! How cool is that? So I made a proto-type from some scraps (this is very scrap friendly).It went together so quickly. So I thought I would try another one.

I made my second one with pre-quilted fabric that I had left over from making my sewing machine cover. You could make these assembly line fashion in no time flat. I can't remember how many Kim has made so far, but you can go to her blog and get the details there.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

First off, I want to thank everyone for their sweet comments on yesterday's post. I hesitated to write it, but I wanted to share from my heart. Some who left comments have a no-reply or no email, so just know that I truly appreciated everyone's thoughts.

And today when I picked up the mail, there were some great surprises in my mail box!

I always love it when the mailman leaves me a package, but when there are more then one, well, woo-hoo....... happy dance :-)

Amanda from Scrapsational had a little giveaway with a sweet Christmas book panel. She drew my name, and it arrived today!

Now you need to pop back over here because she is having another giveaway! This time she is giving away the most delicious blue and yellow strips, all ready to be sewn up for that special Christmas gift. At least that is what I would do with it ;-)

And then the other package came all the way from California. Beth from Beth's Crafts was reorganizing her stash and patterns and put together a mystery gift!

So this is what arrived.

I know, I know you want to see what was inside the package.

Can you believe it?? 15 of the most wonderful patterns to be had. I am certainly going to be busy in the new year.

My dear friend Kelly Jackson from I Have a Notion also sent me a little gift. She shared an Eleanor Burns book, Day and Night.

The book has a little boo-boo, but you know what? That doesn't make the book any less usable. I've been a big fan of Eleanor Burns for years. This book actually comes with the acrylic template to make these cool looking blocks. Go and visit my friend Kelly. You will be happy that you did!

It really made my day to find these little packages in the mail. Quilters are the best! I've found them to not only be talented and creative, but they also have kind hearts and are most generous. Thanks for making my day :-)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Today has been a different day. It is a day of thoughts and memories. Every year I try not to allow this day to get me down, but something inside of me just won't let it go.

Thirty years ago today my sweet Mom left her place here on earth and walked the streets of gold. She left suddenly and quickly. Which does not make it easy on family.

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."

I know thirty years seems like a very long time, but when you are young and you lose your Mom, there is a hole left in your heart. It really does not heal, but it becomes like a wound that has a scar over it. You always know it is there.

With time the pain does subside, but the memories are still there. And I am so thankful that our loving Lord has come along side of me to lift me up on the days when the memories bring back pangs of pain.

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Monday, November 16, 2009

Several of you left very sweet comments about the fall quilt that I made for my friend. It is an Eleanor Burns pattern that I gleaned from watching one of her Quilt in a Day programs. She was teaching an 11 year old how to make the strippy quilt. I thought I would show you the Christmas one that I started.

It is such an easy quilt, and I think the pattern is published in Eleanor's Christmas book.

And while we are touching on the subject of Christmas quilts, hop over to my little friend Natima's blog and see what she is doing with a Christmas quilt using up her scraps. Be sure to check back with her as she is including a tutorial (once she works out all the details :-)

Can we all enjoy another giveaway? Elaine from Faithful Quilter: Elaine's Journey is having a Thanksgiving giveaway. We all have so much to be thankful for, and it's always fun to be included in a giveaway. And did you know that if you sign up for SewCalGal's giveaway blog you will be notified of giveaways that she is aware of. You can also let her know when you are having a giveaway :-) Great way to get the word out!

Friday, November 13, 2009

This is the lovely home where I stayed while visiting my BFF in Ohio. She offered for me to stay in her beautiful basement, which is almost like an apartment. We had plenty of room to spread out fabric, patterns and sewing machines. While I was there I thought I would take a few pictures of her quilts.

This is the quilt that my BFF made when she visited me several years ago. I taught her how to make this pattern, and she has not looked back ever since :-)

When we both met in Chicago for the Chicago Quilt Festival in 2007, we bought this Lori Smith pattern and the Judie Rothermel fabric and made this little quilt together.

I love how she has hers displayed.

This is her Peace on Earth, from last year's visit to Nashville AQS show.

And here is the quilt I made for her from my last visit to Ohio -

I love how Fallish this one looks. I am linking up with Sew and Tell because I always like to share quilts that I've finished :-)

Now, have you visited Inch Worm Fabrics? Jeanette is having a Grand Opening giveaway. She is the niece of Barb from Bejeweled Quilts by Barb. Barb is also having a giveaway that you will have to check out on her blog.

Also Sandy from A Legacy of Stitches is having a very sweet giveaway celebrating her 400th post. She's got some unique rules, so you will need to pay her a visit.

And my sweet friend Wendy is having her first giveaway. If you have never visited Ivory Spring, you are in for a real treat. What an amazing quilter she is. She was part of the 100 Blocks giveaway, but she is also having Giveaway #2. So go and sign up!

And last but not least, hop over to Larkspur Lane Designs. Sue is also a 100 Block featured designer, and she is giving away a copy of the latest issue.

I like to help my friends out when I can :-)

(p.s. I am adding one more fantastic giveaway to this post. Hawthorne Threads is having a wonderful giveaway that you need to check out!! You won't be sorry :-)

Thursday, November 12, 2009

My story started yesterday with our tour of the 12 + Quilt shops we visited in Ohio Amish country. It was a delight to visit the various shops and see all the different quilts and samples that were made up.

BUT I also went to machine quilting school :-) Last April my BFF attended the Quilting Symposium in North Carolina, and took two classes on Machine Quilting. One was with the machine quilting icon Harriet Hargrave, and the other class was with Sue Nichels. I was not able to attend the symposium, so I asked my friend if she would teach me what she learned in her class.

For years I have checked this book out of our local library -

I would try to read through it, but was always a little frustrated. It seems that I am more of a visual hands on learner. So of course when my BFF attended Sue's class, I was very interested in knowing what she learned. When it worked out for me to travel to her home in Ohio, I went ahead and purchased the book.

One of the very first things my BFF stated, was that going through this book was like taking Sue Nickels basic machine quilting class.

Step one, making a grid -

Step two, more practice grids, this time with different size stippling -

Step three, trying new stitch designs -

Step four, another option -

Step five, practicing cables -

Step six, woo-hoo! open feathers -

And finally, graduation -

Now these are all pretty crude, and I was not sewing on my own sewing machine, so that has yet to be proven, but I felt that I was able to get some of the basics to machine quilting on a home sewing machine. That has always been one of my goals in quilting.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Can there be such a thing as too much shop hopping? Well, I don't actually think so. Last month we had a two week shop hop in our area. We made it to all 8 shops and I even won a small prize :-)

But the ultimate shop hopping was happening last week. You see I left on this-

on Thursday,

went here -here -

here -

and 8 other shops in Holmes County in Ohio. It is one of the largest Amish communities in Ohio, and every year they have the Amish Shop Hop. This is my fourth time going. My BFF lives near Akron, so we take three days and hit the shops.

We also found some great bargain fabrics here -

It was so exciting to find name brand fabric for $4.99 a yard! Red Rooster, Benartex, P & B, South Sea Imports and lots more. We almost could not get out of there. I had to be really good, because I would be taking things back on a plane :-(

I did get to see a little bit of this -even though I was a little late for the color change. It was still beautiful.

So that is what I have been doing for the last five days. I had so much fun with my BFF. We talked, and sewed, and talked, and ate, and talked, and sewed, and just had a grand old girlfriend time.

I'll catch up more the next time. I'm glad to be home, although a little tired.

Monday, November 9, 2009

My sweet son has been rooting around in the kitchen lately. And no I don't mean that he has been consuming everything in sight. He has been thinking up recipes for us to try, and I might add that he is going a terrific job at it too!

He came up with a chicken recipe that I thought I would share. (And I sure hope I can keep the ingredients straight, because I was taking pictures while he was preparing, but I think you will get the idea)

Friday, November 6, 2009

I never learned how to Crochet. My Mom made some very beautiful things. But whenever she tried to show me how to crochet, I just did not get it. All that counting and dropping of stitches, etc, etc..... well I just could not do it.

However, my sweet daughter has learned how to crochet, and she's really doing it well. She has made a couple of baby blankets, and is working on a bag. But her most recent design has been making her self some gloves. Well I guess you call them gloves.

I really don't know how she did it, but she designed these herself.

Aren't they cool? She made them so she would have mobility of her fingers.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Monday, November 2, 2009

Over the weekend I finished up the two week long shop hop in our area. The blocks the shops offered this time were very pretty, using fall colors and patterns. In the past I never would purchase the blocks, mostly because they were in a style that I did not care for. Living in Florida, the shop hops usually keep to a tropical theme.

So for the first time I bought some of the blocks and even a finishing kit. Now you know what that is, right? You buy a kit that is supposed to make a quilt from the blocks that you have purchased. So just as a word of warning, if you ever decide to purchase a finishing kit, make SURE that the directions to complete the quilt are included! What a surprise when I opened the package and there were no directions!!!

Okay the quilt shop did make it right, and finally emailed me the directions :-) It was a happy ending after all. But just as a word of caution, check before you leave the shop!

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